


Chaos Change

by bluemisfortune



Series: Valkyrie AU [7]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Gen, Non-Graphic Violence, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 09:56:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11310969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemisfortune/pseuds/bluemisfortune
Summary: Grasping a new power is never easy. Luckily, Yuuma will always be there to hold everyone's hand through it.





	Chaos Change

 “Hey,” Ryouga snaps. Michael glances up from his work. “How much more does that need?”

 “Not much,” Michael replies. “I think. Why?” 

 “Take a break,” Kaito says. Michael frowns and pushes back his chair. “Teach us how to fight those things. Your brothers.” 

 “Without your armour and these upgrades-”

 “We couldn’t even come close,” Ryouga says. “Durbe did better than us and he was struggling with the backfire.” 

 “We have to be ready when they come back,” Kaito agrees. “We can’t just sit here and do nothing. You said they’re your brothers. You said you’re like them. Give us a chance to protect Yuuma and the others. They said they’re coming back, help us be ready.”

 Michael watches them silently for a moment before sighing and nodding. Once he gets the actual formula right, upgrading is little hassle. He supposes, he’s got a few moments to show Ryouga and Kaito how much they need their armour and their chaos upgrades to get anywhere near him and his brothers. 

 

 “What even are you guys?” Ryouga says as they had to a training room. 

 One without a window to the watery world outside so their sword boy can’t be distracted by the fish. He does want to protect Yuuma, no matter what he says otherwise. He loves their father and his brothers, but Yuuma…

 “That sword your brother uses,” Ryouga says, picking up a wooden sword. “IV, right?”

 “Thomas,” Michael murmurs. 

 “You have names?” Kaito says.

 “Of course. Why wouldn’t we? We were human once.” 

 “What are you now?”

 “And how do we beat you guys?” Ryouga says.

 Michael sighs and closes his eyes for a moment. He can sense the world around him. He can feel the energies everywhere around him. Their beating hearts. The pulses and flashes going through their nerves. The electricity in the circuits all around the submarine. The people in it. The water outside it. 

 IV up above them. V just outside this dimensional plane. Tron with him. 

 “Michael,” Kaito snaps. 

 He feels the words rather than hears them. Echoing and vibrating around him. Sending tingles through him right to his fingertips. 

 “My brothers and I are long dead,” he whispers, feeling Kaito picking up a pair of paint guns. It’s tricky to practice when they’re with weapons that could kill a human with a single strike. Even harder without them. “We died many centuries ago. But Father wouldn’t allow that. Christopher, Thomas, Michael. The three of us, his faithful sons who learnt everything Father could teach us about the world. How to manipulate it around us. How to move the world to suit our needs. To help others.”

 “Wait, wait, you’re dead?” Ryouga snaps.

 “How is that possible?” Kaito says. 

 “You are aware you’re dealing with Alchemy, correct? Science from a time when science and magic were still considered one and the same.” Michael smiles bitterly. “Think of my brothers and I as ancient AIs in ancient false bodies.”

 “Androids?”

 “Something like that. He created these bodies in their image. Loaded us with their memories as far as he could. Rather, his memories of them. But we could never be them. Not truly. Rather than his sons, we were V, IV and III. And he instilled his hatred of the world in us.” 

 He sighs and tilts his head back. They could never be Chris, Thomas and Michael. Not really. They aren’t humans. They’re monsters. 

 

 Michael spins on his heel, eyes still closed as he aims a kick right at the point where Kaito and Ryouga’s energies meet. Where their fingertips brush. They jerk apart and Michael catches Ryouga’s wrist before he can swing his sword, twisting his arm so the blade blocks Kaito’s shots. They pause and Michael drops Ryouga’s wrist. 

 “IV’s weapon, Heaven’s Strings,” he says, slowly opening his eyes to find them staring at him. “It’s a philosophical weapon.”

 “The fuck does that mean?” Ryouga snaps.

 “It means anything defined as a sword will break beneath it,” Michael replies. 

 Ryouga frowns. “Then how do we beat it?”

 “Someone who isn’t a sword user faces him,” Kaito says. “Simple. We switch opponents.”

 “Yuuma hardly fared any better, did he?”

 “He was facing two of them,” Ryouga snaps. 

 “You can’t even beat me,” Michael says. “How are either of you going to do against the pair that for optimised for combat?” He sighs and turns away. “Besides, IV will come after Ryouga and Durbe whether you like it or not. You can’t stop him.”

 “Durbe doesn’t have armour-”

 “I’m working on that. He’s in danger, so he should have someway to protect himself. But it’s you that worries me, Ryouga. Your weapons will break beneath his blade, but you yourself, you define yourself by your blade - _as_ a blade.”

 “Are you suggesting Ryouga himself may fall victim to his weapon?” Kaito snaps.

 “Precisely, actually,” Michael says. “As long as you define yourself as a sword, you can never defeat IV.”

 

 “Michael,” Vector calls, skidding around the corner. “Michael, we need Barian serum.”

 “What, why? You’re not supposed to-”

 “Some one has to protect the base so you can finish your work,” Mizael says. “You said you’re close. So stop playing around with these two and get to work. We’ll hold back IV.”

 “You guys don’t stand a chance with those armours,” Ryouga snaps. 

 “We don’t have much choice,” Vector snaps as Michael hurries passed. 

 He doesn’t bother listening to the rest of Vector’s rant. Instead, he picks up two of doses of Barian serum and hurries back. He shouldn’t have let Ryouga and Kaito distract him. These Chaos modules are the only way they can stand a chance against V and IV. He hands the Barian back to Mizael and Vector who nod and run off. He sighs and steps away, returning to his work in the relics as Ryouga and Kaito head off to the bridge to keep watch.

 

 It seems Michael is done just in time. He runs onto the bridge to find Astral covering Yuuma’s eyes. Michael frowns and Ryouga and Kaito glance back at him. Mizael is already on the floor, his armour having failed. There’s little Vector can do with his own armour already disintegrating. He holds out the relics to Kaito and Ryouga and there’s barely a thanks before they’re out the room Michael is left gazing up at the screen, unable to do a thing as Vector’s armour shatters and he crashes to the floor next to Mizael. 

 “Huh,” IV drawls, tucking his hands behind his back. “That’s it? Even that failed user did better? I guess you two really just aren’t even worth listening to again. So boring.” 

 “Thomas…”

 “Oh well. We’ll just have to dissect you and see what makes you two tick.”

 “ _No!_ ” Durbe and Yuuma yell at once. 

 IV snaps his heels and the monsters swoop in as both Durbe and Yuuma swing around. Michael blocks their path. Both look in agony, listening to Vector begging not to die like this.

 “Help us! Somebody… anyone!”

 “Anyone?” Ryouga says suddenly. “That’s no way to refer to your seniors, you know?”

 Michael turns slowly, as do Yuuma and Durbe. Ryouga and Kaito are in front of the pair, monsters in ribbons around them. 

 “So cool,” Yuuma cries, at the same time as Durbe mutters, “stop trying to look cool.”

 “Senior, my ass!” Vector yells, glaring up at them. “What took you so long?”

 “We were debating whether it was worth saving you,” Ryouga replies.

 

 “Are you guys ignoring me?!” IV snaps. They glance up and IV throws out a handful of crystals, watching them form monsters. “I won’t let you off with just a simple defeat this time! I won’t be ignored!”

 “Ah, so you’re an attention seeker, Thomas?” Kaito says. 

 IV stiffens and Michael groans as his eyes glow. He had to go and say it, didn’t he? He had to open up to them and tell them about them. He’s such an idiot. Heaven’s Strings appears in Thomas’ hand and he tears through his down monsters. Kaito and Ryouga stagger back, Kaito’s gauntlets transforming into machine guns, opening fire instantly. 

 IV dances through the bullets with terrifying ease. He springs into the air and Heaven’s Strings swipes through the gun, sending Kaito flying back in a explosion of his own armour. Ryouga steps back, raising his own sword and IV sneers, swinging around and twisting to drive the pummel into Ryouga’s stomach, knocking his back and a brutal kick sending him flying into a wall. 

 “Some rescue!” Vector yells as Mizael starts to pull himself to sitting. “We did better than that!”

 “He’s right,” Ryouga groans, pulling himself upright. “We’re not going to beat him if we don’t go all out.”

 “Right,” Kaito agrees. “Nothing else for it.” 

 IV sighs and steps back, lifting his coat tails and spinning lazily. “Even the exhaustive efforts of losers and still the efforts of losers. No matter how you raise your output, you’re still inferior creatures undeserving of my fanservice.” 

 Ryouga and Kaito nod, grabbing the crystals on their chests, clicking the wings and drawing them from their position with a flash.

 “Rank Up!” 

 IV pauses, a savage grin as they toss the crystals into the air and they expand into sharp blades. “Oh? You’re going to sing a new song for me?”

 “Chaos Change!”

 

 The blades plunge down into their chests and both scream. Dark energy wraps around them and their eyes blaze red. They have to conquer it if they stand any hope of fighting IV. The very fact that IV stands by as they struggle with the Chaos energy is a worry. They were so desperate, he hasn’t had time to teach them how to use it properly. But IV is letting them try. Why?

 “Michael,” Yuuma says quietly. Michael glances at him with a small smile. “You have something for me, right?”

 “You’re not allowed to go out fighting in your state,” Gauche snaps. 

 “I’m not going out to fight,” Yuuma replies with a grin. “I’m going to protect people!”

 Typical Yuuma. Michael relents and gives Yuuma his relic, watching him run off before turning back to the screen. Ryouga grabs Kaito’s hand and they both hit the ground, panting heavily as the crystal return to their dormant form. 

 “Sorry,” Ryouga says. “I just, needed a grip on the world.”

 “It’s fine,” Kaito replies. “Your stupid face is just the sort of thing I need to snap me back to my senses.”

 “A failure?” IV sighs. “I might as well just put you out of your misery right now.” 

 “Hey,” Vector calls. “Can I change sides? I don't want people thinking I'm associated with these two losers.” 

 “If you were useful.” 

 

 “No one’s changing sides!” Yuuma yells, landing between Ryouga and Kaito. He grins and Ryouga and Kaito glance up. “We’re all going home together!” Kaito and Ryouga nod, slowly climbing to their feet and Yuuma turns to IV, who grins back. “We’ve got some business with you, IV!”

 “Well, with this idiot around, we can’t lose, can we?” Ryouga says with a shrug. 

 “At least it’ll be someone else’s hand for you to grab when you’re scared,” Kaito says. 

 “Hey! I’m here to save you two! One more time, guys. Kattobingu!”

 They both groan and IV sneers. “Alright then, have one more try. Then I’ll cut you all down where you stand.” 

 “Rank Up!”

 The three crystals open up once more and Yuuma smiles, grabbing Kaito and Ryouga’s hands in his, squeezing tightly as they take deep breaths.

 “Chaos Change!”

 “Well then,” IV purrs. “Show me your cursed melodies.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's only a week until Symphogear AXZ and I am so hyped so you're going to be seeing more of this au I think. Also I do stick pretty close to Symphogear canon with stuff so if you like losers holding hands a lot for no real reason, I'd suggest watching.


End file.
